One of the greatest honors that I consider bestowed upon me came when the members of the Beavertown Historical Society (in Lincoln Park, New Jersey) voted unanimously to display my published articles about the history of Lincoln Park on one of the walls of the old Lincoln Park Museum. It is truly an honor that I do not take lightly.

To me, it was a great source of encouragement, to fiercely work even harder to bring the wondrous and colorful history of this small New Jersey town to as many people as I could, through the medium of local newspapers. It truly meant a lot to me.

Many times, whether at work, at our place of worship, at a community fraternal club, or within family relationships, we overlook the wonderfully positive role that encouragement can have in a person’s life. It’s a tough world out there, artists and creative people face so much rejection in pursuit of their specific creative outlet. It seems that those of us who are friends or relatives of someone working toward the attainment of a creative goal, should be given our encouragement.

Many times, unfortunately, it is only human to underestimate the positive power of a few simple words of kind encouragement. But, that one bit of simple encouragement could make a world of difference in the life of the person to whom we give a few words of encouragement. That friend or family member may have been at the point of giving up on his or her dream, and just a few words of encouragement could be just the thing to steer them back on the course of working toward accomplishing their life’s dream. We will never know.

If you know someone who might be a little bit down in the dumps, why not offer out a few words of encouragement? It doesn’t have to be rocket science kind of thing. A simple, “you can do it,” could be just the thing to inspire a song in someone’s heart. You just can’t place a price on the high value of encouragement.